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Diocese of Pinerolo

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(PINEROLIENSIS)

Located in the province of Turin, in Piedmont, Northern Italy, suffragan of Turin. In the Middle Ages the city of Pinerolo was one of the keys of Italy, and was therefore one of the principal fortresses of the dukes of Savoy. It is now the seat of a military school. Those of its churches deserving mention are the cathedral (which dates from the ninth century, and has a beautiful campanile) and San Maurizio, a beautiful Gothic church, from the belfry of which there is a superb view of the Alps and of the sub-Alpine plain. The earliest mention of Pinerolo is in the tenth century; it belonged to the Marca di Torino (March of Turin) and was governed by the abbots of Pinerolo, even after the city had established itself as a commune (1200). From 1235, however, Amadeus IV of Savoy exercised over the town a kind of protectorate which, in 1243, became absolute, and was exercised thereafter either by the house of Savoy, or of Savoy-Acaia. When the French invaded Piedmont (1536), Pinerolo fell into their hands and they remained in possession until 1574. However, by the treaty of Cherasco it again fell to France (1630), and it remained under French rule until restored by the treaty of Turin to Savoy. The latter state, at the same time, withdrew from the league against Louis XIV. Pinerolo was originally an abbey nullius. It was founded in 1064 by Adelaide, Princess of Susa, and was made a diocese, in 1748, at the request of Charles Emmanuel, its first prelate being G. B. d'Orlié. In 1805, conformably with the wish of Napoleon, the diocese was united with that of Saluzzo, but, in 1817, was re-established as an independent see. Within its territory is the famous fortress of Fenestrelle. It has 58 parishes, 16,200 inhabitants, 3 religious houses of women, and 3 educational institutes for girls.